WANG Yongqing ¹, LIU Fengli ¹, CHANG Qibing ¹, YANG Yulong ¹, XU Zeyue ²

(1. University Key laboratory of Inorganic Membrance in Jiangxi Province, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Jingdezhen 333403, Jiangxi, China; 2. Research Institute of Jiangsu Ceramic Co. Ltd., Yixing 214221, Jiangsu, China)

Abstract: ZrO₂ nanofiltration membranes were prepared by using a sol-gel method with ZrOCl₂·8H₂O as zirconium source, water as solvent and PVA as thickener. The effects of sol concentration and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) content on integrity and thickness of the ZrO₂ nanofiltration membranes were studied. The ZrO₂ nanofiltration membranes were characterized by using field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM), pore-size analyzer, water flux and PEG interception equipment. When the sol concentration was 1.5 mol/L and the addition content of PVA was 2.4wt.%, the ZrO₂ nanofiltration membranes had a smooth surface, with complete structure after calcination at 650 ℃ for 2 h. In this case, the thickness of the ZrO₂ nanofiltration membranes was 782 nm, while they exhibited high separation efficiency and permeation flux. The molecular weight cut off for PEG was about 1000, corresponding Stokes diameter of about 1.6 nm, while the pure water flux was 61 L/(m²·h·bar).
Key words: sol-gel method; PVA; microstructure; ZrO₂; nanofiltration